Mike McDaniel Was Brutally Honest About Tua Tagovailoa's Performance vs. Colts

The Dolphins’ 2025 season got off on the completely wrong foot this past weekend with a 33–8 loss to the Colts. Coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier already seemed to be on the hot seat entering the year, and this was not the start they could afford.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa went 14-for-23 passing on the afternoon for just 114 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions while also being sacked twice and fumbling once. His three turnovers and the eight total points he led Miami's offense to simply wasn't enough to get the job done—something McDaniel acknowledged on Wednesday:

"I think I saw quarterback play that was less than to be desired," he explained at a press conference from Miami Gardens. "Which Tua absolutely knows ... he's the captain and the franchise quarterback, and everybody kind of fell victim to something similar. I also know that he's very much, like most quarterbacks, to be honest, where you're putting a lot of work into something and [it's] your first time doing it for a collective four quarters in months, you're not at your best."

The Dolphins, now 0–1 to start the season, will host the Patriots this coming Sunday from Hard Rock Stadium, and will look to improve upon their efforts and fix their errors from last weekend.

"My biggest thing is I don't want to make the same mistakes twice," McDaniel continued on Wednesday. "I don't want to have things happen for no reason or in vain. You make it purposeful by improving upon things that you failed at, and then making sure that your teammates do the same. So, he's comfortable with that in terms of, you know, we need to be better collectively. He and everybody else needs to be better to get done what we want to get done."

Kickoff for Sunday's game in Miami is set for 1:00 p.m. ET.